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Gabbert gets first shot at QB in Jaguars' preseason opener

Rebounding from a sub-par practice and sprained right ankle early in camp, Blaine Gabbert has done enough to start at quarterback ahead of Chad Henne in the Jaguars’ preseason opener Friday against Miami.

Gabbert took all of the first-team snaps during Thursday’s walk-through.

“We talked about both of them, but as a staff, we just decided that on some of the reps, Blaine has shown really good progress,” coach Gus Bradley said. “We looked at it, we analyzed it and we thought this would be a good situation for us.”

Bradley didn’t say how long Gabbert would play, but added that Henne would also see time with the first-team offensive line.

Bradley also declined to say if Henne would start next week’s preseason game at the New York Jets, fueling chatter the competition really isn’t “open,” and strengthening the theory that the coaching staff would like to see Gabbert put a stranglehold on the job starting against the Dolphins.

In the first two weeks of camp during 11-on-11 drills, not including Thursday, Gabbert was 93-of-159 passing (58.5 percent) and Henne 97-of-145 (66.9 percent).

Gabbert won’t have many of his projected playmakers.

Ruled out because of injury were receivers Cecil Shorts (left calf) and Justin Blackmon (groin) and reserve running back Justin Forsett (toe). Running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who has sat out only one practice (July 28), will be a healthy scratch.

Gabbert’s start will be his first live action since injuring his right forearm last Nov. 18 at Houston.

“It’s just another opportunity to get better and have a little fun, too, going against another opponent,” he said. “It will be a little livelier than [last week’s] scrimmage.

“I always expect to start the game, but at the same time, competition is always going to be the theme of this organization so you don’t take things for granted.”

Gabbert overcame a poor ball security-plagued practice on July 27 and the ankle injury two days later to take a full amount of snaps the last week, including a 14-of-22 outing on Monday.

“He’s really shown a lot of poise,” Bradley said. “He’s handled the situations that have been presented to him in practice.”

Henne’s top passing days in camp were 19-of-24 (July 27), 14-of-19 (July 31) and 12-of-15 (Monday).

“There’s no disappointment,” Henne said of not getting the start. “I’m still going to have the first [offensive line] in there and I’ll try to make the most of it. Our job is to score points and move the football.”

In addition to the quarterbacks, Bradley has not told the starters how long they will play, although the general first-game load is 10-15 snaps.

“I want our guys going into the game with the mind-set that they’re playing the whole game — it’s a dangerous thing to talk to your players about how many reps they’re going to get,” Bradley said. “We don’t want our guys to be rep counters — we want them out there executing and performing.”

Before being hired by the Jaguars, Bradley worked for three coaches in the NFL: Jon Gruden, Jim Mora Jr. and Pete Carroll, but he hasn’t patterned his preseason game plan off any of them.

“We just did what we thought would be best for our team,” Bradley said. “We have a young team so it’s important to get those guys reps and get them in a [game-night] atmosphere and just see if they can stay in their wheelhouse and operate.”

The Jaguars’ projected starting defense is expected to be available except rookie safety Johnathan Cyprien (left hamstring), who has yet to practice.

“The first preseason game is about letting it all hang out and then sorting it out,” outside linebacker Russell Allen said. “We’ve had a good amount of reps and learning what we’re doing and trying to get things exactly right and being sharp. Now it’s about doing what we’ve been coached to do at full speed. It’s not going to be perfect; it never is.”